Favorite scent:The dusty smell of rain when it hasn't rained in months and the smell of wet concrete.

Favorite Disney Movie:All the classics and Renaissance films. Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, Mulan and Up.

Favorite quote:Most Douglas Adams. Particularly "It is a mistake to think you can solve any major problems just with potatoes". And also "What really knocks me out is a book, when you're all done reading it, you wished the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it" from the Catcher in the Rye.

Favorite season:Autumn

Drink or smoke:Nah. I'm legal for both but I'd prefer the straight edge lifestyle. I love when people apply the peer pressure and my friend comes into defend my by saying "Straight Edge is a hardcore punk lifestyle. It's totally cool that she doesn't drink."

Sing in the shower:Most definately. I have portably iPod speakers so I can sing along while in the shower.

Most played song on iPod:Anywhere but Here by Rise Against. (Ooh, Rise Against, there's a suprise).

Thursday, April 22

I got a lot of feedback about my Periodic Table T-shirt so I thought I'd show it to you all. And once I'd gotten out the camera I couldn't help but take a few photos.

Here's my T-shirt. It's a great conversation starter. I was bushwalking to Wineglass Bay in Tasmania and had two guys comment on it. One guy had walked past me when he suddenly spun around, pointed accusingly at me, and screamed "Periodic Table" at the top of is lungs. The other guy sort of just nodded and said "cool periodic table".

I want the periodic table shower curtain from the Big Bang theory.

This is my pin board. It's turned into more of a work of art than a notice board.

You might be able to notice my elevator safety guide in the bottom right-hand corner. This was a Christmas present from my brother, O'Malley. I gave him several bags of air. Just in case, you know? There's also my name spelt out using element symbols, two Andy Warhol quote postcards. Several song quotes. Several post-it notes designed by my friends, including one quoting the Raven. There's a playing card from Port Arthur in Tassie, a couple of sketches by me that I love, a batman birthday invitation and more!

These are a couple of the posters on my wall. I also have all the One Piece wanted posters, a WW1 recruitment poster (which I adore), and a Pink Floyd "The Wall" poster.

I chose to show these ones to you because of my original series Pokemon poster which came free with the 2BA Master Pokemon soundtrack CD my brother got when he was four and I recently stole to load onto my iPod. My brothers and I also went lapping to this CD. Blasting out the PokeRAP while "hoon-ing" around town is pretty epic.

Here's my bookcase! The most important part of ones house. There are at least three other bookcases in my house, all more full than this one.

Notice my gorgeous four books on the second bottom shelf that I won as second prize in a Forgotten Bookmarks give-away? I've got War and Peace, Les Miserables, the Works of Shakespeare and the works of Carlyle. Try not to notice that I own all the Twilight books.

If I had to pick some of my favourites off this shelf I'd have to go with the Kate DiCamello (my mum and I are in love with this children's author), the Inkheart trilogy (the movie was the worst film adaption I have ever seen), Catcher in the Rye (because I'm married to Holden Caulfield. Do not debate this fact), my Markus Zuzak (the Messenger and the Book Thief), and probably my graphic novels. Don't judge me, people. V for Vendetta is an amazing movie and an even more amazing graphic novel.

This is my desk where I write this blog. It's from the old Catholic school. It has 3A printed on the side showing which classroom it used to be in. Funnily enough, my brother has the teachers desk from the old Catholic school.

See my sexy red computer? It's RED! There's also my iPod touch there and a load of other crap. The piece of paper pinned to my wall is the Rules and Advice for NaNoWriMo which I am now using for Script Frenzy. Would you like to take a closer look at what's written on my white board? Of course you would:

This was mum's motto for me while studying for the High School Certificate last year. I haven't rubbed it off yet because I'm planning to attack O'Malley with it when his exams come around.

I admit that I was the one that added the INGSOC slogan. Mum wasn't happy with the whole Ignorance is Strength line, seeming she was forcing me to study to make me less ignorant, so changed it to Undying Obedience.

Finally I'm adding an artwork that I did because I want to ask you your opinion. I still need to get a piece of coloured card for the background and I need to paint the frame but I'm having trouble choosing colours. If anyone tells me the guy has fat arms or looks like Ben 1o I will cyber punch you.

Both my beloved Zella (Grammatically Motivated) and Scott (Ergo) have written "A Day in the Life of..." articles on their blogs and I have been inspired to write one of my own.

May day's are pretty irregular. Because I broke my leg I've had to postpone Uni and I can't work so most days are spent bludging around the house. Except on Wednesdays and Thursdays I go with my mum to the school she teachers at as a volunteer. So here's a typical Wednesday/Thursday in the life of Penguins Quack.

6:45 - my alarm doesn't go off. I forgot to set it again. Instead I'm woken by mum's alarm going off in her room. Screw it. I'm not getting up.

6:50 - I realise mum will kill me if I don't get up but still can't be motivated to get out of my warm, comfy bed. I turn on my CD player. My theory says the Alkaline Trio will help me get up. For some reason Birds of Tokyo starts to play and I doze off again.

7:10 - Mum charges into my room telling me to get up. I tell her I already am, I just finished rubbing bio-oil on my scars. She leaves and I start rubbing bio-oil on my scars before putting on some jeans and my periodic table T-shirt.

7:15 - I stare into the fridge, then the pantry, then the freezer. I complain that there's nothing to eat for breakfast. I don't eat cereal and we're out of raisin toast. And bread. And milk. In the end I settle for mum's crumpets.

7:45 - Mum comes into the kitchen while I'm still eating and asks if I'm ready to leave. I'm not. I spent half an hour chatting to my brother, O'Malley, instead of getting ready. I run to the bathroom and brush my teeth while also brushing my hair and putting shoes on.

7:50: Mum makes me drive the 20 minute drive out to the small Aboriginal school she works at.

8:10 - We finally arrive. 10 minutes late. We go to the library where mum, the teacher-librarian, turn on the computer and sets up the borrowing system while I read picture books.

8:45 - School starts. All 23 students line up for morning notices and nose-blowing. For some reason we have to teach the kids how to blow their noses, and for some reason I have to participate. The kids then do two laps of the oval. Luke once again manages to get away with only doing half a one.

9:00 - Literacy. I take the slow learners out of the class. We do Look Say Cover Write Check with their spelling, I give them a test and then we do readers. The most boring stories ever written that i must read through about 4 times each day.

11:30-ish (I don't really know the school bell times) - Recess! Ramsey's about ready to thrash me with his reader and Maylan is asleep. The bell rings and the three of us enthusiastically run outside. I eat while chatting to the teachers. Someone asks Mr Nayler to peel their orange.

11:45-ish - Numeracy. I play snakes and ladders with the slow learners. The aim is number identification and counting forwards and backwards from a number. I lose the game, having gotten no closer to 100 that 20 the entire game.

1:15-ish - Lunchtime! At last! Escape! I flee from my horror, pledging never to play snakes and ladders again. Someone asks Mr Nayler to open their can of tuna.

1:45-ish - I have a choice. Take the infants for library with mum, or take the primary class for information tech. with Mr M. (the kids can't pronounce Reece's last name. I can't spell it). I take information tech. because Maylan wants me too. They're writing picture books for the infants class. Maylan and I spend all lesson trying to draw an alien on the un-oriented smart board.

2:30 - Mum returns and we do HSIE (human society in its environment). She's teaching "communities" so everyone has to draw a building in their community. At Natalie and Brianna's request I participate. I draw the doctors surgery. Then Brianna makes me draw a dolphin.

3:00 - Finally school ends and we head straight out to mum's friends place. He has a spa/hot-tub which I use for physio. Even when using it for physio, a spa is super-duper awesome.

4:45 - On the way home mum and I buy something for dinner because there's never any food in the house. When I say buy something for dinner, I mean a BBQ chicken.

5:00 - Finally home and I go straight to the computer. Facebook, Blogger, Twitter, Sparklife, Manga. On good Thursday afternoon's all the Shounen Jump manga's could be out. Otherwise I spend all evening refreshing the One Manga home page.

6:30 - We eat the BBQ chicken. Mum asks O'Malley how his day was and he gives an average answer. Mum and I then go and eat our dinner in front of the TV. O'Malley somehow manages to eat while playing TFC online.

7:00 - O'Malley and I wash up while mum goes for a walk. I then check Facebook and One Manga.

7:30 - after reading all my Shounen Jump I skype my twin brother, the Chairman, who is at a college in Canberra and whine about the latest Bleach to him. We then analyse everything that happened in Naruto to the point that an English teach would be shocked. We have nothing but praise for One Piece. I then complain that Skip Beat hasn't come out for three weeks and the Chairman hangs up on me.

8:30 - On Wednesdays I watch Spicks and Specks religiously, followed by Hungry Beast. On Thursdays I procrastinate until How I Met Your Mother at 9:00.

9:30 - I hope into bed and read and listen to music, at some point remembering to apply my bio-oil. I forget to set my alarm.

Tuesday, April 6

Okay, because Script Frenzy and physio (and maybe a little bit of manga) are all that's on my mind at the moment, and because there's pretty much nothing interesting about physio, I've decided to blog my songs from Xerxmania and have you guys tell me what you think.

So here's the song I mentioned in my previous post, the Balls of a King. This song is sung by Darius on Xerxes wedding day.

It takes balls to be king!It takes balls to be emperor!And what proves you have ballsIs how many wives you can tether!

A king with one wifeGoes the way of MacbethA sap ground downAnd whipped to his death

The ballsy king tames herThen ropes him a secondIt’s a ménage à troisFor the well hung husband

What's better still?Aim for the forgyBuckle up three wivesAnd it gets so much more sexy

(What about four, sire?)High five to ya, son!

(And another, sire?)Almost half a dozen!

(And that many, sire?)A fucking stallion!

Xerxes is on his way!Now he has another wife at the tetherHe has the Balls of a KingThe Balls of an Emperor

The balls to tackle Greece!

When they burned Sardis they disturbed my peaceAnd after Marathon my anger increasedWith balls too big for any codpieceWe'll crush them and finally my vengeance will cease

(Yes!)

It takes balls to be king!(Xerxes has balls!)It takes balls to be emperor!(Like your balls, sire!)And what proves you have balls(Like a fucking stallion!)Is how many wives you can tether!

Tell me what you think. Tomorrow I might follow it up with I Won't See You. A love song sung by the second wife.

Friday, April 2

Just thought I should tell you all that penguins_quack is now on Twitter.I got sick of suscribing to peoples tweets using RSS feeds.But now that I think about it penguins_tweet may have been an appropriate play on words for my user name. Oh well. Penguins_quack it is.

~

In other news, Script Frenzy started yesterday and I'm already hating Xerxmania. All because Darius sings a perverted song that starts: